This invention relates to musical instruments of the stringed kind. By way of example, the invention is applicable to musical instruments such as the violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar and mandolin. It will be convenient, however, to hereinafter describe the invention with particular reference to violins.
Violin manufacture is a highly specialised art requiring the use of special timbers and the application of special skills which require many years to achieve. As a consequence, the violins of only a few manufactures are recognised as satisfactory for use by concert musicians, and those violins are extremely expensive. Even violins of lesser quality, however, are expensive because of the care and time involved in their manufacture.
The quality of sound derived from a particular violin rests largely on the skill with which certain internal components have been manufactured and installed. Those components include a bridge support bar and a sound post. The bar is usually called the bass bar and is secured to the underside of the top plate or belly of the sound box of the instrument so as to extend longitudinally of the instrument. The bar is of relatively heavy section and is positioned under the foot of the bridge which is adjacent the "G" string, or the string of lowest pitch. The sound post is generally a slender rod of round cross-section which is wedged between the top and bottom plates of the sound box at a location beneath the foot of the bridge which is adjacent the "E" string, or the string of highest pitch.
Each of the two components mentioned above must be manufactured of suitable material, formed to a correct size, and accurately located within the sound box in order to enable the instrument to generate quality sound. Substantial skill is required to achieve those objectives.
Due to the construction of the traditional violin, the top and bottom plates are forced to move in a very complex manner when activated by the strings of the instrument. For this reason, correct selection of the timber for those plates is very critical. The standard manufacturing dimensions of violins have been perfected over a period of 400 years and those dimensions apply to produce satisfactory results only if a timber of a very specific kind is used. That type of timber has always been in limited supply, but it is now becoming increasingly difficult to secure and that which is available is often of poor quality or inadequately seasoned. It is also very expensive.